Thousands of Syrians and Shia pilgrims have celebrated the birthday anniversary of Imam Ali (AS) during a ceremony at the Sayyidah Zaynab shrine in the capital city of Damascus.

According to Al-Alam correspondent, hundreds of Shia pilgrims form Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries

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also took part in the ceremony.

The ceremony was held in the holy site as Syria has been facing a foreign-backed insurgency that killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.

Imam Ali was Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s highly revered son-in-law and cousin as well as the first Imam of Shia Islam.

Imam Ali is respected for his courage, knowledge, belief, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, deep loyalty to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), equal treatment of all Muslims and generosity in forgiving his defeated enemies.

In Iran, people take the occasion of this religious holiday to thank and honor their fathers as well as grandfathers and to spend more time with them. They often pay tribute to their fathers by giving them gifts. Father’s day in Iran is a national holiday.Access to video: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1593968